{"id":1410,"date":"2016-10-20T15:48:59","date_gmt":"2016-10-20T15:48:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=1410"},"modified":"2018-08-24T16:18:56","modified_gmt":"2018-08-24T16:18:56","slug":"the-island-of-misfit-plays-coco-1969","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/the-island-of-misfit-plays-coco-1969\/","title":{"rendered":"The Island of Misfit Plays: Coco (1969)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Island of Misfit Plays: Coco<\/em> (1969)<\/h3>\n \"\"<\/a><\/span>

Written by Clark Levi<\/p>\n

October 18, 2016<\/p>\n<\/font>

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Welcome to our new series, The Island of Misfit Plays, where forgotten plays and musicals are rediscovered\u00a0and forgotten no more. Broadway flops and vanished greats, plays you might not have heard of, abandoned projects — you name it! It\u2019ll be covered.<\/p>\n

Today, we take a look at a grand Golden Age Broadway musical, one about the later life of Coco Chanel as she attempts to break back into the fashion industry after a fifteen year retirement. Upon its opening in 1969, Coco<\/em> starred Katharine Hepburn in the title role, with a powerhouse creative team of Broadway greats behind it: A Chorus Line<\/em>\u2019s Michael Bennett, ten time Grammy winner Andre Pervin and four time Tony winner Alan Jay Lerner (both of My Fair Lady<\/em>). Coco had a solid run of over 300 performances on Broadway, the highest cost of any Broadway show at the time, and a near sold out national tour and a fair awards presence. Yet you\u2019ve probably never heard of it.<\/p>\n

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Coco<\/em> came to Broadway in 1969, which is a good decade or so after the Broadway Golden Age ended, but there is definitely a big, dramatic sheen over it that is characteristic of Golden Age musicals. Even though I\u2019m not particularly fond of most Golden Age work, the overdramatized nature indeed fits the life of the Mademoiselle, Coco Chanel herself. The score is gorgeous, with grand,\u00a0thrilling orchestrations and lyrics that flow with ease and emotion.<\/p>\n